National Bank warns of weak productivity indicators

In the 2020s, there was a significant improvement in digitalisation, which is mainly due to the increase in the digitalisation efficiency of companies, explained András Balatoni, Director of the National Bank of Hungary (MNB), at a press conference on Wednesday.

The report presented deals with the four pillars of productivity, which include labour productivity, innovation, digitalisation and eco-efficiency. The megatrends of the decade – such as demographic change, geopolitical change, rapid technological development and the green transition – have made the efficient use of resources more important than ever.

The improvement in labour productivity has slowed down compared to the end of the last decade due to a series of crises in recent years. While real labour productivity rose by an average of 3.3% per year in the period 2017-2019, it only improved by an average of 0.8% per year between 2020-2023. The increase is almost exclusively attributable to the service sector. In terms of digitalisation and eco-efficiency, Hungary is the least behind the EU countries in relative terms, at 78% and 81% of the EU average respectively, said Balatoni.